The agent of £16 million-rated Napoli winger Adam Ounas is trying to take his client to the Premier League with West Ham United the preferred destination, according to Calciomercato.
Carlo Ancelotti has shared success with some of the biggest attacking superstars of the 21st century – so who better to pass judgement on Ounas than the former Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and AC Milan boss?
“When he’s got the ball, he has to do special things. There aren’t many who can create something out of nothing and he is one of them, so he has to make the most of that talent when he’s on the ball, because he is capable,” the Italian told 90Min last year during their time together at Napoli.
While Ancelotti never doubted Ounas’s talent or potential, it seems there are plenty at Napoli who do have some concerns about whether the Algeria international can make the grade at the Stadio San Paolo.
The 23-year-old was farmed out on loan to Patrick Vieira’s Nice last summer and the decision to sack Ancelotti, Ounas’s biggest supporter, in December appeared to hammer another nail into the youngster’s coffin.
Reports in Italy are now claiming that the former Bordeaux starlet has hired a new agent, Moussa Sissoko, who has made it his mission to secure a Premier League move for his client.
West Ham, according to Calciomercato, is the number one option.
Napoli have made it clear, however, that Ounas will not be leaving on loan again. West Ham, then, will have to part with around £16 million to bring in a winger who produced four goals and four assists at Nice last season.
Equally comfortable on the left or the right, Ounas’s arrival would at least offset the impending departure of Grady Diangana to West Brom.
West Ham’s record transfers
- Sebastien Haller
£45 million
- Felipe Anderson
£41.5 million
- Marko Arnautovic
£25 million
- Pablo Fornals
£24 million
- Issa Diop
£22 million
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